El amor, como sentimiento, es uno plasmado cientas de veces a través del arte. Se le han dedicado álbumes enteros, películas, novelas, poemas, esculturas, y demás obras en distintos medios artísticos, nada más para tratar de transmitir mediante el momento artístico esa sensación de embriague tan profunda que nos ocasiona el amor. Hay múltiples formas de amar, y muchas formas de expresar dicho sentimiento. Eso mismo es lo que vuelve cada manifestación única.
Pero, el día de hoy, quiero hablarles accerca de una canción increíblemente personal para mi, y dado que estos días me he encontrado increíblemente perdida en el sentimiento, me parecía propicio hablarles de una de las obras más hermosas que he escuchado: Oblivion, de Grimes.
Love, as a feeling, is one that has been captured hundreds of times through art. Entire albums, movies, novels, poems, sculptures, and other works in different artistic media have been dedicated to it, just to try to transmit through the artistic moment that feeling of intoxication so deep that love causes us. There are many ways to love, and many ways to express that feeling. That is what makes each manifestation unique.
But, today, I want to talk to you about an incredibly personal song for me, and since these days I have found myself incredibly lost in the feeling, it seemed appropriate to talk to you about one of the most beautiful works I've heard: Oblivion, by Grimes.
Claire Elise Boucher, mejor conocida como Grimes, es una músico y productora con ya varios años de trayectoria y bastante popularidad. Si no has escuchado su música aún (lo cual estaría muy mal, porque es increíble), probablemente la reconoces por haber sido esposa de el hombre más rico del mundo: Elon Musk.
No haré más mención a esto, porque no quiero convertir este artículo en otro palabrerío acerca de "la esposa de Elon Musk". Grimes es, en sí misma, una artista increíblemente interesante, y por ende tiene que tener su reconocimiento por lo que fue primero: artista.
Durante la creación de esta canción, Oblivion, Grimes estaba en el proceso agónico y tortuoso de hacer Visions, su tercer álbum.
Su discográfica le había dado una fecha de entrega increíblemente reducida, y Grimes tuvo que ver cómo hacer maravillas con ese poco tiempo. Sin saber qué hacer, decidio encerrarse en su cuarto durante 3 semanas hasta que el disco estuviese terminado. 9 días de esas 3 semanas fueron sin comer, sin dormir, y con las ventanas completamente selladas; Grimes decía no poder hacer música si no era en la noche.
A pesar de lo doloroso del proceso, Grimes inclusive considera que parte del éxito que tuvo fue todo ese amor, sangre, sudor, y lágrimas que tuvo que ponerle al proyecto.
Claire Elise Boucher, better known as Grimes, is a musician and producer with several years of experience and quite a lot of popularity. If you haven't heard her music yet (which would be too bad, because it's amazing), you probably recognize her for having been the wife of the richest man in the world: Elon Musk.
I won't make any further mention of this, because I don't want to turn this article into another claptrap about "Elon Musk's wife." Grimes is, in herself, an incredibly interesting artist, and thus has to have her recognition for what she was first: artist.
During the creation of this song, Oblivion, Grimes was in the agonizing and torturous process of making Visions, her third album.
Her label had given her an incredibly tight deadline, and Grimes had to figure out how to do wonders with that little time. Not knowing what to do, she decided to lock herself in her room for 3 weeks until the album was finished. 9 days of those 3 weeks were spent with no food, no sleep, and the windows completely sealed; Grimes claimed she couldn't make music unless it was at night.
As painful as the process was, Grimes even considers that part of her success was all the love, blood, sweat, and tears she had to put into the project.
Volviendo, entonces, a Oblivion individualmente, tenemos una canción que yo he llegado a interpretar como la muestra más pura de amor.
Oblivion, empieza, como una canción en la que Grimes narra su miedo a salir a la calle de noche. Esta, desgraciadamente, es la vida diaria de muchas mujeres: ver la calle como un campo minado. Un sitio lleno de riesgos y peligros a cada esquina, y en el cual tu muerte puede no significar ni tener gran trascendencia para nadie más que tus seres queridos.
Este miedo lo desarrollo Grimes luego de sufrir un asalto callejero, y es algo que la marcó fuertemente durante varios años. Es un miedo muy profundo, y muy real, y por eso Grimes se muestra vulnerable al expresar este terror a la noche.
I never walk about after dark
It's my point of view
'Cause someone could break your neck
Coming up behind you
Always coming and you'd never have a clue
Turning, then, to Oblivion individually, we have a song that I have come to interpret as the purest display of love.
Oblivion, it begins, as a song in which Grimes narrates her fear of going out on the street at night. This, unfortunately, is the daily life of many women: seeing the street as a minefield. A place full of risks and dangers around every corner, and where your death may not mean much to anyone but your loved ones.
This fear was developed by Grimes after suffering a street assault, and it is something that marked her strongly for several years. It is a very deep fear, and very real, and that is why Grimes is vulnerable in expressing this terror of the night.
I never walk about after dark
It's my point of view
'Cause someone could break your neck
Coming up behind you
Always coming and you'd never have a clue
Luego de Grimes mostrarse vulnerable, dice por primera vez la que será una línea esencial en esta canción: "See you on a dark night". Esta línea es importante, pero no se ve hasta más adelante en la canción, y el siguiente verso nos da la explicación:
And no, I'm not a jerk
I would ask if you could help me out
It's hard to understand
'Cause when you're running by yourself
It's hard to find someone to hold your hand
You know it's good to be tough like me
But I would wait forever
I need someone else
To look into my eyes and tell me
"Girl, you know you've got to watch your health"
Grimes adjunta, en contraposición a su miedo, su deseo de ser amada. De ser protegida, y cuidada. "I need someone else to look into my eyes and tell me: girl, you know you've got to watch your health", expresando cómo quiere a alguien que sea atento, y se preocupe genuinamente por ella.
Aquí, Grimes está dando una declaración sentimental sumamente intensa. Necesita a alguien más que le haga sentir segura, que le genere comfort. Y, ya sabiendo esto, repite la línea ya mencionada hasta que se termina la canción:
See you on a dark night
After Grimes shows herself to be vulnerable, she says for the first time what will be an essential line in this song: "See you on a dark night". This line is important, but it is not seen until later in the song, and the following verse gives us the explanation:
And no, I'm not a jerk
I would ask if you could help me out
It's hard to understand
'Cause when you're running by yourself
It's hard to find someone to hold your hand
You know it's good to be tough like me
But I would wait forever
I need someone else
To look into my eyes and tell me
"Girl, you know you've got to watch your health"
Grimes attaches, in contrast to her fear, her desire to be loved. To be protected, and cared for. "I need someone else to look into my eyes and tell me: girl, you know you've got to watch your health", expressing how she wants someone who is attentive, and genuinely cares about her.
Here, Grimes is making an intensely sentimental statement. She needs someone else to make her feel safe, to bring her comfort. And, knowing this, she repeats the aforementioned line until the song ends:
See you on a dark night
Grimes, directamente, le pide a alguien que le acompañe en una noche oscura. Se puede inferir que se lo está diciendo a alguien que le hace sentir segura, y por ende, quiere que le acompañe en una noche oscura, donde normalmente podría ser atacada.
Esta canción es una muestra bellísima de amor, porque demuestra la seguridad absoluta que te genera alguien. Confiarle algo tan importante como tu vida, porque así mismo es que se ve ante un miedo tan arraigado, a una persona.
Poco se habla de cómo el amor se siente como seguridad, como un hogar, como bienestar. Por esto mismo, me parece una canción tan hermosa, y por eso es parte esencial de mi vida y forma de ver el amor.
Grimes, directly, asks someone to accompany her on a dark night. It can be inferred that she is saying it to someone who makes her feel safe, and therefore, she wants him to accompany her on a dark night, where she could normally be attacked.
This song is a beautiful display of love, because it demonstrates the absolute security that someone generates in you. Trusting her with something as important as your life, because that is how you see a person in the face of such a deep-rooted fear.
Little is said about how love feels like security, like a home, like well-being. That is why I find it such a beautiful song, and that is why it is an essential part of my life and the way I see love.
Eso es todo lo que tengo que decir acerca de lo que esta canción me hace sentir, y lo hermosa que es. Ojalá todos sientan ese amor alguna vez en sus vidas; todos se lo merecen.
No se olviden de seguir amando, y no se olviden de seguir consumiendo arte.
That's all I have to say about how this song makes me feel, and how beautiful it is. I hope everyone feels that love sometime in their lives; everyone deserves it.
Don't forget to keep loving, and don't forget to keep consuming art.
Fuentes de las imagenes usadas / Sources of the imaged used: